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Notes -
So, what are you reading?
I'm trying to finish Lucretius' On the Nature of Things, H. A. J. Munro's prose translation. I stopped at Book 5 (each "book" is small) last time, it got a little repetitive. It has to be one of the most profound books I have read, regardless of how much I disagree with its materialism.
This Epicurean tract distills the best of all that might resemble scientific humanism, and I felt that it revealed a lot that was hidden from view due to its unfailing self-awareness. Lucretius, you see, tells his philosophy in poetry because he intends to lessen the blow, the same way that one might sweeten an unpleasant but necessary medicine. It's a fine way to get into the aesthetics behind the humanist mind.
If you have ever doubted that atheism and materialism can be beautiful, inspiring and wise, this is essential reading.
In ancient world, poetry was seen not only as the highest form of literature, but also as the best way to teach any subject, including something like astronomy or snake bite treatment.
Imagine reading your textbooks in Homeric hexameter. Time to RETVRN.
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